


Brace Face

by darkdropout



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-09
Updated: 2011-10-09
Packaged: 2017-11-10 04:36:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/462260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkdropout/pseuds/darkdropout
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the JEKISSMEME. Prompt: Ohno is embarrassed by his braces and Nino helps him. Their braces get locked together</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brace Face

Ohno really doesn’t see it coming.

When his mom takes him to the orthodontist one day after school, he doesn’t think much of it. She’s always making appointments and dragging him to them and he’s realized long ago that it’s easier, less painful for everyone, if he just goes quietly.

But this, this time it’s just evil.

That’s because she tricks him, out-right lies, telling him he’s just going for a teeth cleaning. The next thing he knows he’s on his back underneath a set of blinding white lights, while a dental assistant with boney elbows that she seems to have no qualms about resting heavily on his face while she works, is gluing little pieces of metal to his teeth and wiring them together, painfully tight.

 

Now Ohno is sitting in the lunchroom, mouth heavy and metallic and sore, staring mournfully at his apple, slowly coming to terms to with the fact that it will not be making it into his stomach today – maybe ever again.

“Braces, huh?”

Ohno is startled out of his self-pitying reverie by the sudden voice beside him. Reluctantly, he turns away from his apple to see who’s spoken to him.

Standing behind him is a boy. He looks about twelve, but must be older seeing as he’s wearing the same school uniform as Ohno himself. He’s scrawny, pale, with dark hair that’s long enough to fall into his sharp, dark eyes. On his chin is a prominent mole. He grins at Ohno, mischievous, and Ohno sees the glint of metal in his mouth.

“It’s gum for me,” he says, sliding casually into the seat across from Ohno, not bothering to ask permission. Ohno blinks at him in confusion, but the boy doesn’t seem to notice and continues to speak.

“I miss it. I dream about it,” he tells Ohno, a wistfully look on his face. “The minute I get these babies off, I’m buying three packs and chewing it all at once.”

“When do you get them off?” Ohno finds himself asking, still unsure who he’s talking to and why. But then, to be honest, he finds himself in that situation quite a bit.

The boy scowls at him and Ohno takes it as a sign that this was the wrong question to ask.

“Last year,” the boy grits out.

“Oh,” Ohno says, uselessly.

“It’s fine,” he replies, waving a hand dismissively and Ohno can't help but notice how tiny his hands are, more childlike than his face, with smooth palms and short stubby fingers. Cute, Ohno thinks without meaning to. “I’m sure it’s just an oversight. I’ve sent written complaints to the appropriate channels.”

“Apples are my favorite,” Ohno says, realizing belatedly that they’ve already switched topics.

The boy looks at him curiously for a moment, then throws his head back and lets out a barking laugh.

“I’m Nino,” he says when he’s regained his composure. “You’re Sho-kun’s friend right?”

Ohno blinks stupidly a few times before nodding. “Ohno.”

“Oh-chan,” the boy says, approvingly.

Then he leans in conspiratorially and Ohno finds himself leaning in to, reflexively.

“You know, Oh-chan, there’s something I’ve always wanted to try,” Nino whispers, his tone suddenly, disarmingly sweet. “Will you help me?”

His eyes glint impishly and Ohno finds himself wondering why he feels as if he’s already agreed to whatever Nino is about to say.

 

It’s maybe the worst kiss Ohno has ever had.

Judging by Nino’s frustrated grunt against his lips, he’s probably feeling the same.

There’s too much metal sticking out sharply in too many directions to safely use tongue and Ohno’s gums are still swollen and oversensitive from yesterday’s brutal dental work, making the whole thing extremely hard to enjoy. When they pull apart, a long string of saliva stretches and snaps between the wires in their mouths. Ohno wrinkles his nose.

They try again, but this time Nino’s lip gets caught in the barbed edge of one of Ohno’s braces, still shiny new and wickedly sharp in the places where his own are blunt from several years of wear. Nino lets out a surprised yelp and pulls away only long enough to check the damage, before he’s diving back in for another attempt.

“Maybe if we,” Nino mumbles distractedly against Ohno’s cheek when they stop to breath. He pulls back and licks his lips determinedly. Then he tilts his head more and leans forward, presses more forcefully against Ohno’s mouth.

There’s a click.

“Shffftz,” Nino says into Ohno’s mouth and Ohno can’t understand what he’s saying. He tries to pull away, to ask what’s wrong, but when he moves his head back, Nino’s comes back with him.

He pauses, confused. Then pulls back again.

Nino comes back with him.

“Nmmfno?” Ohno asks, thoroughly puzzled. He tries to look at Nino’s face, but they’re so close he goes cross-eyed.

“Eh fink wur stuth,” Nino explains, reaching up to place a steadying, surprisingly gentle hand on Ohno’s cheek. He feels Nino’s tongue poking carefully around his gum line.

“Yths,” he confirms. “Wur stuth.”

Ohno tries to focus on Nino’s face again and finds himself looking straight into Nino’s eyes, sees the laughter there in way they’re twinkling, starry bright. He feels Nino’s tongue lick playfully at the roof of his mouth.

“Wrr thif ith nize,” Nino says, conversationally, against Ohno’s teeth.

Ohno just nods, Nino’s head coming with him as he does so. He feels Nino’s lips curl up into a smile and Ohno, despite the complete ridiculousness of the situation – or perhaps because of it – can’t help but smile too.

Somewhere out of sight, Nino grabs his hand and squeezes.

 

“You know what’s even sexier than getting our braces stuck together?” Nino says later, waggling an eyebrow provocatively.

After a good hour or so of having their braces caught together, Nino had managed, with those unexpectedly clever (and less unexpectedly impudent) little fingers, to fish Ohno’s phone out of his back pocket and dial Sho’s number. How Sho figured out where they were when the only thing Nino could manage to say was something like “FPKTS!” – well, that was a mystery for another day.

On the plus side, the look of trauma on Sho’s face when he found two of his previously unacquainted friends stuck in a rather scandalous position made the entire incident well worth the trouble.

“I don’t want to know,” he kept muttering, over and over, his voice pained as he fumbled and finally got them apart.

“What?” Ohno asks Nino, swinging their loosely tangled hands easily between them as they walk home together.

“Headgear!” Nino tells him happily, then bursts into laughter at his own clever joke.

And once again Ohno finds himself smiling and laughing too, not entirely sure why except that he can’t seem not to, not since he met Nino.

Maybe braces, Ohno thinks, squeezing Nino’s hand in his, aren’t as bad as he thought.

  



End file.
